The present invention relates to a communication method capable of managing attributes of communication between communication apparatuses, a communication system, communication apparatus, management apparatus, storage medium, and user information module.
For example, when providing a variety of services to users via a communications network such as the Internet, the users are charged in accordance with the service content and a variety of information is given, so a function for identifying users who utilize the services is necessary.
Most information services on the Internet are of a client/server system wherein a terminal of a user accesses a specific server to obtain the services. The WWW (World Wide Web) is a typical system of the same. Further, the case of users being introduced to service providers by a so-called portal site and connecting from a terminal to a server by following the information can also be referred to as a client/server system. In a client/server system as above, a user has to connect his terminal to a server via a network and register when starting to utilize the service or when purchasing goods. After that, the user may use the user ID information or an e-mail address issued at the time of the user registration to receive the service. On the other hand, the server can identify users registered on the Internet and obtain a grasp of the trends in use of the users.
In a system combined with mobile phones etc., user identification is possible because information of the telephone subscribers can be automatically obtained by usage of telephone lines.
However, the type of information services using the Internet in recent years is not limited to a case where terminals of users are connected to servers. Namely, terminals of users are increasingly directly connecting with each other to exchange information. In this case, when the information to be exchanged is something provided by specific information service providers, that specific information is exchanged without the awareness of the service providers. Accordingly, it becomes difficult for the service provider side to accurately obtain a grasp of the trends of service provision. The exchanged information includes indirect information relating to transactions of goods etc. besides direct information such as mutually exchanged data itself.
Also, in the case of an information community providing communication means between users even for services provided on a server, information is directly exchanged between the users and sometimes it is not easy for the server to obtain a grasp of the content of the information exchange. While the above described the case of obtaining a grasp of the state of use of individual users, it is also difficult for the server to determine the trends in collective use of information by users.